Adjustable shelving

ABSTRACT

Adjustable shelving pieces supported on uprights, each piece of shelving including shelf collars at the corners thereof, each upright being provided with a shelf support that is secured to the upright by a tightening screw, the outer surface of the shelf support tapering outwardly downwardly, said shelf collar having an interior surface that also tapers outwardly downwardly with said shelf collar being placed about said shelf support in a snug fit and held in place by said shelf support.

O Umted States Patent 1151 3,675,598

Kesilman et al. [4 1 July 11, 1972 1541 ADJUSTABLE SHELVING 1,774,264 8/1932 Goodrich ..248/413 3,225,940 12/1965 Story ..2l 1/153 72 Inventors. Sol Kesllman Milton Kra both of l Chekenham; ilyman gi all 3,124,111 1/1969 Maslow ..108 144 of Pa. 4 Primary Examiner-James C. Mitchell [73] Assngnee: gilllam Hodges 8: Co., lnc., Philadelphia, Am,me caesar Rivise Bernstein & Cohen [22] Filed: Nov. 4, 1970 [57] ABSTRACT [21] Appl. No.: 86,665 Adjustable shelving pieces supported on uprights, each piece of shelving including shelf collars at the corners thereof. each .5. Cl 08 M4, upright being provided with a shelf support that is secured to fill. Cl. the P y a g ening screw, the outer surface of the shelf 58 Field of Search I08/96, 101, I06, 1 1o. 1 1 1, 8"PPM F wwardly dwnwmdlysaid 103/l44. l5 1 I59. I61; 2| l/l48, I53; 248/16] g an interior surface that also tapers outwardly downwardly 22 l, 412, 4| 3; 287/5103 with said shelf collar being placed about said shelf support in a snug fit and held in place by said shelf support. [56] References Cited 8 Clalrm, 19 Drawing figures PMENTEDJUL 1 1 1972 SHEET 10F 4 SOL 8y HYMAN PENN ATIZWA/E j INVF/VTOP, K E 5 I L M AN MILTON KRAVITZ MZML,

P'ATE'NTEDJuL 1 1 m2 SHEET 2 OF 4 KRAVH'Z SOL MILTON HYMAN B. PENN ADJUSTABLE SHELVING This invention relates to adjustable shelving and to a new and improved device of this general class.

It is known to provide shelving devices wherein each shelf is held in place by a wedging action as exemplified by French Pat. Nos. 855,715 and l,047,554 and U. 8. Pat. Nos. 3,182,846, 3,424,111 and 3,523,508.

In the case of the French Patents specified hereinabove, such devices involve the use of specially designed parts which are believed to be costly, and this is perhaps the reason why these devices have not appeared on the market at any time.

The shelving devices of the specified U. S. Patents require that the support tubing be provided with grooves at predetermined intervals in order to be engaged by a projection extending from a support member. Such scoring is somewhat costly in the case of round tubing and most likely prohibitive in the case of square tubing. Furthermore, the shelving systems of U. S. Pat. Nos. 3,424,111 and 3,523,508 can be located only as allowed by the grooves in the support posts. Also, an unscored piece of tubing is believed to present a much more satisfactory appearance than a tubing with spaced notches. Furthermore, scored tubing is weaker mechanically than unscored tubing, and the shelving itself provides a collection area for unwanted dirt and grime.

There is also found in the prior art shelving systems wherein the shelving is secured to the support tubing by means of the engagement of a set screw that passes through the shelving and is in bearing contact with the tubing. However, such systems have tended to come loose in the event the set screw is loosened during transportation of the system or from vibrations.

In view of the foregoing it is an object of the present invention to provide adjustable shelving which combines the advantages of a wedging support, and yet also includes the simplicity of the set screw support.

Yet another object of the present invention is to provide adjustable shelving wherein the weight of the shelf and any articles placed thereon serves to strengthen the securement of the shelving to the uprights, but wherein such shelving can be moved upwardly by a single tap.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide adjustable shelving that can be quickly assembled, using a small number of parts, and wherein the position of each shelf can be quickly changed in a relatively simple manner.

Yet another object of the present invention is to provide adjustable shelving that can be manufactured at a relatively low price, and yet will support a considerable load.

The foregoing as well as other objects of the invention are achieved by providing adjustable shelving supported on ground engaging uprights with each piece of shelving including shelf collars at the corners thereof. Each upright is provided with a shelf support that is secured to the upright by a tightening screw with the outer surface of a shelf support tapering outwardly downwardly. The shelf collar has an interior surface that also tapers outwardly downwardly with the shelf collar being fitted upon the shelf support and held in place by the shelf support.

In the event that it is desired to change the positions of any particular shelf once the adjustable shelving of the present invention has been erected, it is not necessary to disturb any of the other shelves. Instead, a shelf whose position is to be changed is given an upward tap at each comer so that it can be raised above its shelf supports. Then, the position of the shelf supports is changed by loosening the tightening screw and the screw is then tightened after the new position of the shelf support has been achieved. The shelf is then lowered into place so that the shelf collars of the shelf are seated upon the newly positioned shelf support.

Other objects and many of the attendant advantages of the invention will become more readily apparent by reference to the following figures of the drawings wherein:

FIG. I is a perspective view of adjustable shelving constituting a first embodiment ofthe invention;

FIG. 2 is a greatly enlarged view taken along the lines 2-2 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along the lines 3-3 of FIG. 2'.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along the lines 4-4 of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is an elevational view of a shelf support used in the practice of the adjustabh shelving of FIG. 1;

FIGS. 6 and 7 are vie'ws taken along the lines 6-6 and 7-7 of FIG. 5;

FIG. 8 is a sectional view taken along the lines 8-8 of FIG.

FIG. 9 is an elevational view showing a second embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 10 is a sectional view taken along the lines Ill-I0 of FIG. 9;

FIG. I1 is a sectional view taken along the lines II-Il of FIG. I0;

FIG. 12 is a perspective view showing a shelf support that is used in connection with the second embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 13 is a rear elevational view of the shelf support of FIG. I2;

FIG. 14 is an elevational view showing a third embodiment of the invention;

FIG. I5 is a sectional view taken along the lines 15-15 of FIG. I4;

FIG. 16 is a sectional view taken along the lines 16-16 of FIG. 15;

FIG. I7 is a plan view showing the shelf support used in connection with the third embodiment of the invention; and

FIGS. 18 and I9 are sectional views taken respectively along the lines 18-18 and 19-19 ofFIG. 17.

Referring now in greater detail to the various figures of the drawing wherein like reference characters refer to like parts there is shown generally at 10 an adjustable shelving constituting a first embodiment of the present invention. As further seen in FIG. I the adjustable shelving I0 includes ground engaging uprights 12 which possess adjustable feet 14. Closure caps are inserted at the open upper ends of the uprights I2. The uprights l2 serve to support two shelves I6, although the number of shelves used in connection with the present invention has no theoretical limit.

It will be seen from FIG. 3 that each of the shelves I6 includes at each corner a generally circular shelf collar 18 that defines a circular opening I9 that is actually conical in shape with the interior surface of the shelf collar 18 tapering outwardly downwardly for a purpose that will be discussed hereinafter.

Each of the uprights I2 of FIG. I may be standard metal tubing, the outer surface of which is not scored or grooved in any way. Likewise, the other components usable in connection with the adjustable shelving of the invention are of a metallic material. There are many types of metals or plastics which will occur to fliose skilled in the art. In many cases the metal will be rust resistant or will contain a rust resistant coat ing. The uprights I2 are preferably made from tubing that is hollow in order to save weight and expense, although there is no reason why solid tubing cannot be used.

In order to secure the shelving 16 to the uprights I2, it is necessary to use shelf supports 20 as shown in FIG. 5. It will be seen that the outer surface of the shelf support 20 tapers outwardly downwardly in order to receive a shelf support I8, the interior surface of which also tapers outwardly downwardly. It will be appreciated that when the shelf collar 18 is positioned about the shelf support 20 that the shelf collar I8 will tend to contact the shelf support 20 in a wedging manner in order to make a tight joint. However, such joint can be easily dismantled by a simple upward tap on the shelving 16.

With reference again to FIG. I it will be seen that each shelf 16 is composed of side frames 22 that are joined to end frames 24. Cross-rods 26 extend between the frames 22 and long rods 28 extend between the end frames 24 in order to provide a load bearing surface. The shelves may also be made of sheet metal or other standard forms.

It will be seen that the shelf support 20 includes fingers 30 that extend upwardly from the flange 32. The fingers 30 are defined by a slit 34 which grows wider as the flange 32 is approached. A tightening screw 36 passes through the flange 32. However, the slits may be of constant width or grow narrower as flange 32 is approached.

By virtue of all of the foregoing it will be seen that it is a simple matter to slip the shelf support 20 onto the upright 12 in a telescoping action as illustrated in F IG. 4. Once the shelf support 20 is properly located, the screw 36 is tightened. This operation is repeated at the other uprights 12. If desired, locating marks or a locating scale may be printed or otherwise placed upon the outer surface of the upright 12. Thereafter, it is a simple matter to locate the shelf 16 on the shelf support 20 by telescoping the shelf collars 18 over each upright 12 and then lowering the shelf 16 until each shelf collar 18 is placed about a shelf support 20. In the event that the screw 36 should become loosened, the shelf 16 will still be held by the support 20 by virtue of the wedging action of the shelf collar 18 upon the shelf support 20 which creates an inward pressure upon the upright 12 by virtue of the resiliency of the fingers 30.

A second embodiment of the invention is shown in FIGS. 9 to 13 wherein square tubing is utilized for the upright IZ-A. By reference to FIG. 10 it will be seen that the shelf collar 18-A is also square. As in the first embodiment of the invention the interior surface of the shelf collar l8-A is tapered outwardly downwardly. Furthermore, it will be seen that the shelf support 20-A(FlG. includes two walls 38 surface extend upwardly from flange 40 with a hole 42 (FIG. 13) being provided to allow the passage of tightening screw 42. It will be seen that in the case of the square tubing as in the case of the round tubing, it is not necessary to provide any notching of the uprights, and the cost of such notching in the case of square tubing is prohibitive.

A third embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIGS. 15 to 19 wherein the shelf support has four upstanding fingers 38-B instead of the two walls of FIG. 12. It is noted that the upright 12-3 is of square tubing and that the shelf support is simply slipped over the upright lZ-B. The outer surface of each of the upstanding fingers 38-8 of the shelf support is tapered downwardly outwardly in the same way as the outer surface of the two walls 38 of the shelf support 20-A of FIG. 12.

Once the shelf support has been secured upon the upright l2-B by tightening of the screw 42-8 that passes through flange 40-8, the shelf is simply lowered upon the shelf support so that each shelf collar lS-B is seated upon a shelf support. As with the other embodiments, the interior surface of the shelf collar l8-B is tapered outwardly downwardly so that the shelf collar will seat in a very snug way upon the shelf support.

In the event that it is desired to change the positions of any particular shelf once the adjustable shelving of the present invention has been erected, it is not necessary to disturb any of the other shelves. Instead, a shelf whose position is to be changed is given an upward tap at each corner so that it can be raised above its shelf supports. Then, the position of the shelf supports is changed by loosening the tightening screw and the screw is then tightened after the new position of the shelf support has been achieved. The shelf is then lowered into place so that the shelf collars of the shelf are seated upon the newly positioned shelf support.

it follows that as weight is placed upon each shelf [6 that the shelf collar will be wedged even more tightly against the shelf support, but still a slight upward tap will free the shelf from the support.

in each embodiment of the invention the shelf support included resilient fingers so that the wedging action of the shelf collar against the shelf support serves to urge the fingers into frictional contact with the outer surface of the uprights. Thus, even if the tightening screw is loosened, such frictional contact will still serve to give good support to said shelf.

in a preferred embodiment of the invention both the interior surface of the shelf collar and the exterior surface of the shelf support were tapered to a Morse taper of about H6.

Morse tapers are widely used in machine shops and provide not only accurate alignment between the parts but also considerable frictional resistance.

It is to be understood that once the shelf support has been secured to the upright, it is a simple matter to place each shelf collar about a shelf support in view of the outwardly downwardly taper of both the interior shelf collar surface and the exterior shelf support surface. It is preferred that the slope of both of the aforementioned surfaces be essentially the same so that the shelf collar will be received in a snug fit.

Without further elaboration the foregoing will so fully illustrate our invention that others may, by applying current or future knowledge, readily adapt the same for use under various conditions of service.

What is claimed as the invention is:

1. Adjustable shelving comprising a plurality of shelves supported on ground engaging uprights having a continuous, unscored outer surface, each shelf including shelf collars, each upright being provided with a unitary shelf support that is secured to the upright by engagement of a tightening screw which is in firm contact with the unscored surface of said uprights until at least the time said shelf collar is fitted upon said shelf support, the outer surface of the shelf support tapering outwardly downwardly, the interior surface of each shelf collar also tapering outwardly downwardly with said shelf collar being fitted upon said shelf support and held in place by said shelf support.

2. The adjustable shelving of claim 1 wherein each shelf support includes upstanding resilient fingers that are urged into contact with said upright by the inward pressure created by said shelf collar when seated upon said shelf support.

3. The adjustable shelving of claim 2 wherein the slope of both the interior surface of the shelf collar and the exterior surface of the shelf support is essentially the same so that the shelf collar is held on the shelf support in a snug fit.

4. The adjustable shelving of claim 3 wherein said shelves are composed of side-frames and end frames with cross rods and long rods extending between said frames.

5. The adjustable shelving of claim 3 wherein said shelves are comprised of sheet metal.

6. The adjustable shelving of claim 3 wherein said shelves are comprised of plastic.

7. The adjustable shelving of claim I wherein said uprights have a circular cross-section.

8. The adjustable shelving of claim 1 wherein said uprights have a rectangular cross-section.

l I I i i 

1. Adjustable shelving comprising a plurality of shelves supported on ground engaging uprights having a continuous, unscored outer surface, each shelf including shelf collars, each upright being provided with a unitary shelf support that is secured to the upright by engagement of a tightening screw which is in firm contact with the unscored surface of said uprights until at least the time said shelf collar is fitted upon said shelf support, the outer surface of the shelf support tapering outwardly downwardly, the interior surface of each shelf collar also tapering outwardly downwardly with said shelf collar being fitted upon said shelf support and held in place by said shelf support.
 2. The adjustable shelving of claim 1 wherein each shelf support includes upstanding resilient fingers that are urged into contact with said upright by the inward pressure created by said shelf collar when seated upon said shelf support.
 3. The adjustable shelving of claim 2 wherein the slope of both the interior surface of the shelf collar and the exterior surface of the shelf support is essentially the same so that the shelf collar is held on the shelf support in a snug fit.
 4. The adjustable shelving of claim 3 wherein said shelves are composed of side frames and end frames with cross rods and long rods extending between said frames.
 5. The adjustable shelving of claim 3 wherein said shelves are comprised of sheet metal.
 6. The adjustable shelving of claim 3 wherein said shelves are comprised of plastic.
 7. The adjustable shelving of claim 1 wherein said uprights have a circular cross-section.
 8. The adjustable shelving of claim 1 wherein said uprights have a rectangular cross-section. 